Originally Posted by GothicGothicness
Some people might think it is fun, but we can all agree it is greatly flawed.

No, we can not. Actually I think we can all agree that you greatly exaggerate in almost everything you said in this thread. You seem to be almost millitant in some cases .
True, Witcher´s hard difficulty is misnamed and should be called normal difficulty
instead, but it certainly isn´t as easy as you say.
I won´t go into details since this thread is here for something else but if not anything else, Witcher´s combat on hard requires player´s full attention, isn´t tedious and doesn´t detract from the game´s main focus which is story.

Originally Posted by Zakhary
Combat is the least significant thing in an rpg.
Combat… it's just always there - but doesn't really matter.

Well, it depends on the particular rpg, doesn´t it?
Take Wizardry 8 or even Baldur´s Gate 2, for example.
Besides, combat is usually the only thing which makes the character development worthwhile/mandatory.

Originally Posted by Zakhary
EDIT: No wait! There's one thing still less significant than the combat… The graphics! .. no.. wait.. hmm.. that's a close call actually…

Hm, graphics, maybe.
But a good visual art (as well as good music) can greatly enhance game´s atmosphere and in the case of Witcher it does. Just wait for the chapter 4 for probably most glaring example of this .